Tag: Henry Ford II

What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Ford v. Ferrari – Matthew Phelan @Slate

What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Ford v. Ferrari – Matthew Phelan @Slate

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The racing movie plays fast and loose with the facts, but some of its most unbelievable details are straight from the record books.

Christian Bale and Matt Damon in Ford v Ferrari and Ken Miles with Carroll Shelby. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Merrick Morton/20th Century Fox and Bernard Cahier/Getty Images.

To say that Ford v. Ferrari plays fast and loose with the facts is arguably to miss the point. Nevertheless, gearheads, automotive historians, and former business colleagues of Ford Senior Vice President Leo Beebe will find a lot to quibble about in this dramatization of the Ford Motor Company’s historic first win over its Italian rival at France’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, which takes its inspiration from A.J. Baime’s nonfiction book Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans.

In one of the many rousing sales pitches that Matt Damon’s race car driver–turned–race car maker Carroll Shelby delivers in the film, he solemnly promises, “We’re going to make history.” And although there’s not much evidence that Shelby actually delivered this pep talk in the 1960s, he certainly said it later when Shelby American and Ford teamed up again in 2008. So, when is Ford v. Ferrari remaking history, when is it at least being true to the spirit of the story, and when is it simply printing the legend? To use another (but sadly not the last) racing metaphor, let’s take a look under the hood.

Ford

Tracy Letts and Henry Ford II Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Merrick Morton/20th Century Fox and Hugo van Gelderen / Anefo.

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Grandson of the founding Ford of Ford Motor, Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), who really was nicknamed “Hank the Deuce,” is portrayed as both an imposing captain of industry and a neurotic beneficiary of his family’s largesse in Ford v. Ferrari. One factual aspect of the dynamic as portrayed in the film is that Ford II and his subordinate executives—including Ford’s then–vice president and general manager, Lee Iacocca—did see success on the European racing circuit as a shortcut to the kind of youthful mod glamour that might appeal to a new generation of American car buyers. And Ford’s plan to spare no expense on this project was indeed inspired by Italian car designer Enzo Ferrari’s showy and vulgar rejection of Ford’s acquisition offer and the restricted terms of its Ferrari-Ford racing team proposal. Ford II’s reaction to this slight, as reported in real life, “All right, we’ll beat his ass. We’re going to race him,” was somewhat more decorous than what erupts from the mouth of Ford v. Ferrari’s Ford II upon hearing this news: “We are gonna bury that greasy wop.”

Jon Bernthal and Lee Iacocca Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Merrick Morton/20th Century Fox and Bettmann / Contributor.

The movie also streamlines the Ford team to a size more suitable for a feature film. Ford’s first two defeats at Le Mans in 1964 and ’65 were overseen by another persnickety Brit, John “Pappy” Wyer, Shelby’s former boss on Aston Martin’s racing team, but Pappy did get into heated arguments with Ford exec Beebe over the firm’s micromanagement by committee—similar to the ones shown between Shelby and Beebe in the movie.

Josh Lucas and Leo Beebe Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Merrick Morton/20th Century Fox and Bernard Cahier/Getty Images.

Though the scenes of conflict within the team, pitting sleazy marketing guys against maverick racing savants, have some basis in reality, they are embellished. Shelby never locked Beebe in an office to get a private audience with Ford, according to Frank Comstock, a journalist and former student of Beebe’s. That said, Beebe did object to risks Miles took at the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida and later at Le Mans that he felt were unnecessary—although not to the extent that Carroll Shelby ever felt the need to bet his entire business on Miles’ success, “lock, stock, and brand,” or walk onto the shoulder of the track with a sign reading “7,000+ go like hell.”

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John Bugas, the man who cleaned Ford of its gangster element – David Conwill @Hemmings

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The History of Ford Motor Company is filled with larger-than-life figures, starting with the founder himself and continuing right up through Lee Iacocca. So many characters, as it happens, have cropped up in Dearborn history that some have been unfortunately overlooked to a great extent. John Bugas, better known as Jack, was one of them.

Bugas was one of 10 children born to Austro-Hungarian immigrant Andrej Bugos, who adopted the name Andrew Bugas and served six terms in the Wyoming State Legislature. In addition to politics, Andrew was a serial entrepreneur and a rancher. The family ranch, called Eagle’s Nest, would be John Bugas’ home from shortly after his birth in 1908 until he enrolled in the University of Wyoming.

In college, Bugas was an outstanding athlete. He studied law and supported himself by working jobs as diverse as forest ranger and trucker. Upon graduation, in 1934, he went to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It was the height of the Public Enemies era, and the brave and capable Bugas was a valued asset to the Bureau. In 1938, he was appointed to head the Detroit office. There he would liaison with the auto industry, something the federal government was already viewing as a strategic asset as totalitarian regimes in Europe and the Far East made no secret of their territorial ambitions.

Even as he proved adept at fighting more mundane crimes like kidnapping and bank robbery, Bugas was particularly renowned for the work he did protecting Detroit’s defense plants from espionage. He broke up a Nazi spy ring centered on Canadian socialite “Countess” Grace Dineen, and could boast that no sabotage occurred in the Arsenal of Democracy while he was in charge.

Naturally, Bugas met many of the Motor City’s leading lights at this time. Henry Ford, apparently still fearing that his grandchildren might be kidnapped like the unfortunate Charles Lindbergh Jr., hired away Bugas to work under the notorious Harry Bennett, head of Ford’s euphemistically named Service Department— essentially, a private army answerable only to Henry.

The tough westerner was not overawed by the ex-boxer to whom Henry was so inexplicably devoted, but had been impressed with the cultured, sensitive Edsel, whom he had met before Edsel’s untimely death in 1943. A self-described “Edsel loyalist,” Bugas determined to carry out the younger Ford’s wishes rather than those of the thuggish Bennett.

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Why the death of the stick shift is almost irrelevant to the classic car scene – David Conwill @Hemmings

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For 1935, Ford offered customers “effortless driving.” Today, that clutch pedal is just too much work for the average new-car buyer.

I hear somebody, maybe Volkswagen, has announced the end of manual transmissions—with other manufacturers almost certain to follow suit. Honestly, I don’t care much.

Any development on new cars is only of peripheral interest to me. I’ll likely never buy a new car. If I did, it would be some kind of roomy, economical family hauler—not a sports machine (the kind my colleague Mark McCourt insists need three pedals). The manual transmission has been extinct in family vehicles for a long while now. I’d much rather spend my money on something like a 1940s De Soto Suburban anyway.

The newest car I’ve personally owned was the 1993 Ford Escort I had from 2001 to 2009. I replaced it with a ’61 Ford Falcon and have largely tried to stick with stuff of ’60s or older vintage ever since. Largely, I’ve also sought out manual transmissions in these older vehicles, though my current car (foreseeably a long-term keeper) has a Powerglide automatic.

Henry Ford II said it himself, way back in 1970: “I think the glamour of the automobile is decreasing… People are looking at it now as a machine to get from place to place to do something else.”

Manual transmissions are like every other manual item of the 20th century that has been automated: air-fuel mixture, spark advance, heck, even staying in your own lane and not tailgating people. Satisfying to those of us that enjoy extracting fine control from a machine, but mostly just an irritation to the average new-car buyer who seems to view driving itself as a major inconvenience anymore. Expecting 21st century, multinational corporations to cater to the enthusiast is a pipe dream. Why not ask for access to their proprietary software while you’re at it?

Better to stick with old cars and create your own reality. They’re not going anywhere, barring draconian legislation that bans driver-operated vehicles from the roads. Even if gasoline goes away, enthusiasts have already started exploring dozens of ways to repower old cars.

Henry Ford’s America – Part 1 – 16mm Educational Films @YouTube

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This documentary of Henry Ford and Henry Ford II offers an incisive look at the American auto industry. It examines the history of struggles between labor and management, poor company leadership decisions, and near destruction of Ford, until Henry Ford II steps in to “clean house”.

Henry Ford II’s Ford Monte Carlo Coupe – Clasiq @YouTube

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This dark navy car sitting behind Buck is rare… Some may even think that this beautiful flathead car is European, but its not. Its actually a Ford and this particular Ford was not just owned by anyone but was the personal car for Henry Ford II. This Ford is a one-of-one hand built custom on a Facel Vega body built specifically for Henry Ford II. Buck was lucky enough to acquire this car during his first month of work for the Ford Motor Company. bought for just $800.

So here’s how the story goes: Henry the Deuce’s grandfather established Ford of France in 1929. In 1949, Henry II commissioned Italian coach builder Stabilimenti Farina (not Pinin Farina but Pinin’s brother’s company) to design and build a luxurious sports coupe on a Mercury chassis. That Farina Mercury became the prototype for the French Comete (Comet) built by Ford of France with bodywork supplied by Facel Metallon (yes, as in the Facel Vega).

Further information here at Classic Cars.com Journal

A Fordson for fun: Scale tractor built for Henry Ford’s grandchildren heads to auction – Kurt Ernst @Hemmings

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Much like his Model T automobile, Henry Ford’s affordable tractors brought mechanization to the masses, and the Fordson Model F was perhaps the most common small-farm tractor of the early 1920s. To teach farming to his grandchildren, Ford requested a circa 1925 Model F in 5/8-scale, and after its time at his Fair Lane estate hobby farm, this child-size tractor was donated to The Henry Ford. Sold to a collector in 1982, this unique bit of Ford history will be crossing the block in Nokomis, Illinois, on April 13, part of the Aumann Auction Pre ’30 sale.

Read the rest here

Superformance Honors Ford GT40 Le Mans Win – John Lyon @RobbReport

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A special edition of the GT40 MKI at SEMA celebrates the golden jubilee of the car’s 1968 Le Mans Victory.

Superformance is bringing a little something special to this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas (October 30 to November 2). The Southern California automotive continuation and reproduction specialists will publicly debut their Future GT Forty, an extra-special—and heavily upgraded—edition of the manufacturer’s GT40 MKI supercar, itself based on the original Ford GT40 MK I.

Read the article here at Robb Report

Mustangs: Six Generations of America’s Favorite Pony Car – AACA

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There will be an exhibition entitled, Mustangs: Six Generations of America’s Favorite Pony Car at the AACA Museum in Hershey PA between May 18th and October 18th 2018.

Among the many exhibits will be the Mustang III Fastback Concept and the 1964 Home Office Special Order Prototype Mustang Convertible.

1964 Home Office Special Order Prototype Mustang Convertible with custom leather interior done as a design center “styling Exercise” per Henry Ford II.

Art Hyde, John Clor & Gale Halderman during their visit on May 18, 2018

More details can be found on the AACA Website